Wisconsin Judge Charged for Aiding Illegal Immigrant Escape ICE
A Milwaukee judge reportedly obstructed ICE agents as they attempted to apprehend a criminal alien, allegedly guiding him through a private jury door to hide him from the agents. Judge Hannah Dugan of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court was subsequently arrested by the FBI.
The criminal alien, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, had been removed from the U.S. in 2013 but reentered the country at an unknown time. An immigration official found reason to remove him, making him subject to arrest.
During a domestic violence court case on April 18, at which Flores-Ruiz was present, ICE agents entered the courthouse. Judge Dugan questioned whether they had a judicial warrant. The agents responded that they had an administrative warrant to enter the courthouse. The judge was reportedly agitated with ICE’s presence, calling it “absurd.”
Dugan then told the ICE agents to deal with the court’s chief judge, after which she unsuccessfully attempted to hide Flores-Ruiz, who was eventually caught by the agents after being chased.
According to NBC News, “Dugan faces charges of obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States, as well as a charge of concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest.”
Dugan is presently in the custody of the US Marshals Service. FBI Director Kash Patel made a post on X – now deleted – about the incident: “We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted about Dugan’s arrest on X:
According to Dugan’s attorney, Craig Mastantuono, “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”
